The present invention is related to methods and apparatus for removing dew from grass areas and is particularly useful for removing dew from golf courses.
Various devices have been disclosed for removing dew from golf courses. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,954,499 to Canto discloses a length of hose for a sweeper body comprising a weight disposed at the far end or in the middle of the sweeper body. U.S. Pat. No. 1,748,354 to Laing discloses a greens whip comprising a steel tubing which is split or slotted at one end. U.S. Pat. No. 2,694,880 to Artese discloses a putting green sweeper. Other devices have also been disclosed for clearing underbrush and debris from a field. Such devices are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,954,905 to Wheat and to 825,983 to Finn.
Some of these previously disclosed devices are clearly not suitable for simply removing dew and/or small debris such as grass clippings and worm castings from a golf course fairway since, as designed, they would tear up the fairway grass. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that it is desirable to break up and spread out worm castings which can otherwise impede the performance of mower blades. Previously disclosed devices which use hoses also suffered disadvantages in that they did not have weights distributed uniformly over the length of the device. Additionally, by its nature, hose typically has a memory which can cause the hose to skip and jump when it is dragged. Those devices having a weight located at a central portion at the time of their manufacture would require cutting at both ends in order to custom fit to a specific desired length.
It would therefore be desirable to provide methods and devices for removing dew from grass areas comprising weights distributed uniformly over substantially the entire length of the device and which can be readily customized to any desired length.
Various embodiments of the present invention comprise devices and methods for removing dew from grassy areas, such as golf courses.
One preferred embodiment of the present invention comprises a plurality of beaded lines wherein the xe2x80x9cbeadsxe2x80x9d comprise lead weights and the beaded lines are disposed within an outer synthetic rope sheath. The ends of the flexible elongated member comprise means for attaching the elongated member to at least one and preferably two separate tractors.
Methods of the present invention comprise connecting at least one of the aforesaid devices to at least one tractor and dragging the elongated flexible member across the grassy area.
These and other embodiments are described in further detail below.